


Welcome to the NHL

by HockeyKnight



Series: The Co-Ed National Hockey League [1]
Category: Hockey RPF, Women's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hockey, Gen, Hockey, National Hockey League, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Penguins, Press and Tabloids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 14:18:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3293519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HockeyKnight/pseuds/HockeyKnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hilary Knight has signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League making her the first female to play a regular season game. She is introduced to the team by the team's Captain Sid Crosby as he initiates and orientates her to life in the NHL.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome to the NHL

The CONSOL Energy Center was buzzing with the excitement of a historical press conference. Not only were the local Pittsburgh media crammed shoulder to shoulder in their seats, but they were also rubbing elbows with the media from all over North America. They were summoned to report on the pioneering event that was no doubt going to change the direction of the game. Young female hockey player sensation Hilary Knight was going to announce to the world that she was signing an actual contract to the National Hockey League (NHL) making her to be the first female player in the NHL. She was a stand-out player at the University of Wisconsin and won a National Championship and nominated for several awards. She then went on to showcase her skills at the Sochi Olympics scoring the first goal for her USA women's national team. But that wasn't enough for her. Like many other stand-out players and pioneering female athletes, there is still a ceiling of success. Hillary could not play at the kind of professional level that the men have because of the lack of support for a women's version of the NHL.  
  
On the other side to the main microphone podium, sat the Penguins general manager at a long folding table with a microphone propped up in front of him. He was impeccably dressed for the occasion, but soon after he was joined by the team's President. Next arrival to his own position on the press conference table was the Penguins owner Mario Lemieux. As soon as he entered the room, the camera shutters began clicking and the whispering amongst the press reporters had circulated the room.  
  
"He rarely attends these events! I wonder what's going to happen," a voice from the press crowd could be heard.

When all the participating people made their way to the podium stage, the Penguins general manager leaned forward into his microphone and made the historic first announcement.

"As you might have heard, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been given a very special opportunity to make history once again and add another great player to the team's roster. While we are transitioning the league as a whole, to fold in gradually more and more female hockey players to the NHL, the Penguins will be one of the first trial cases. With this signing, we will not only make history as a team, but make the National Hockey League the first North American professional sports league to be co-ed."

The press in attendance were hardly watching the General Manager make his opening statements. They were all feverishly taking notes as quickly as possible. Still others were thinking of questions to ask. The General Manager had continued on with his remarks.

"We are most intrigued with young miss Knight's abilities, have been scouting her, as well as inviting her to several informal work-outs prior to today."

Mario Lemieux from the other end of the table stared intensely towards his GM from his end of the table. He waited for his cue to pick up and speak. But again, the team's general manager drudged on with the statements.

"She has been an accomplished player in the women's organizations of college, international and professional ranks. We project her to be useful to us in the upcoming season and project her to be a top-six winger that this team needs."

Mario again looked over at his general manager with an ultimate poker face showing no signs of what exactly he was thinking at this moment.

"It is with no further adieu, that I am pleased to turn it over and present our legendary hall of fame player and the face of the franchise, Mario Lemieux for further introductions."

Mario Lemieux got up from his seat and made the short trek to the podium in the middle of the table. He stood there behind the waiting microphone, but in front of the team's press conference backdrop. He waited silently as he stared out into the sea of reporters. It was if he was again making hockey magic happen once again before everyone's eyes. What was once a bustling room of reporters anxiously awaiting the arrival of Hillary Knight, a settling calm befell the room almost to a palpable silence. He cut through that silence with the following words.

"Thank you all for coming to this historic event. It is my pleasure to introduce to you the first active female player in the NHL, miss Hilary Knight."

The silence in the room was only a calm before the storm as the press reporters furiously took pictures trying to document everything. Hillary arrived into the room on that cue and made her way to an empty seat directly to the left of the podium setup. She wasn't professionally dressed as most male pro athletes who do press conferences are. She had on a dark navy blue track suit with the familiar sporting goods swoosh. The most noticeable trademark on her was actually her smile. Her big toothy grin and affable entrance gleamed in the multiple camera flashes. It was like she was a natural in front of the camera and everyone just played along with her photogenic nature.

It was only a few brief minutes to when Hilary was fielding questions from the media herself. She was under the watchful eye of all the team owners, front office managers and her representative agent. She understood that this would be a great big dream come true for her.

"What are some of your thoughts going through your mind right now?" blurted out some reporter from the assembled crowd.

"Well, I'm really glad to be here and I would like to thank the NHL for allowing me to play in their league. It's like a dream come true."

"Are you at all concerned for your safety?" another anonymous reporter from the crowd asked.

"I'll take that one, Miss Knight," said the Penguins General Manager. "I've been told by the NHL Board of Governors that there are going to be some major rule changes. Since the hitting in the game has been taken out more and more and suspensions given out for big hits. The NHL plans to mirror the women's international rules as well as acclimate future generations of players currently that hitting, fighting, and checking will be outlawed in favor of a more skilled presentation."

The General Managers words only started a more larger uproar and certainly going to become a news story unto itself. For if the sport was going to change and adapt to this new direction, there was going to be a lot of initial resistance from some of the old school players, coaches, and fans. This press conference was expected to be a game-changer and with this latest bomb shell dropped it far exceeded those levels. After one hundred years since it's creation, the game hockey must change once again.

"Hilary, what are you going to do with the locker room atmosphere? Are you going to have your own facilities?"

"We're going to work that out when we get to training camp," she explained. "I guess I'm just going to have to shower with the guys."

As soon as those words left her lips, again the press reporters fervor picked up once again even more loudly. As if they weren't given two other ridiculously inflammable news, yet another storyline was added to this presentation.

"Aren't you concerned at all for the other teammates. Aren't you afraid of all their wives? Are their wives okay with this?" asked another reporter, but the voice sounded like it came from a female reporter.

"Well, it's not like everyone's hasn't seen me naked already," she said without one shred of modesty.

Mario Lemeiux and some of the other team office officials were stunned in silence. They were aware that Hilary first got real national attention from the media when she decided to participate in a sports magazine where she posed tastefully nude. It wasn't that big of a deal since other male hockey stars had done it for the magazine before her. But the reporters were right, there was some bigger kinds of change in years to come to accommodate the locker room.

This progressive move was going to present an even bigger challenge to the league. If they were going to go through with the plan, they imagined the bigger audiences country-wide. For the ultimate equalizer for the gender demographics wasn't politics, but it was money. They didn't see Hilary as a young beautiful woman or star female hockey player, but they only had dollar signs in their eyes.

"Isn't this just another gimmick? Manon only got one game and that was pre-season."

"My agent and I made sure to put several stipulations in the contract that make it a little harder for them to dismiss me if it doesn't work out." Hilary said. "I've even signed a one-way contract so that if things don't pan out in training camp, I can't be buried in the minors or even cut without them blowing out some of their salary cap space."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we also would like to present at this historic time with another planned presentation." the Penguins General Manager cut in. We have brought in our captain Sidney Crosby with a special gift for Miss Knight."

Suddenly, Sidney Crosby entered the room from a side door carrying a Penguins jersey draped over his arm. It was like the way he was drafted in the NHL. He was presented with his own jersey with his name at draft day and this time he was going to pay it forward for a new player who was making history. Sid walked to the podium and looked as if he was going to speak. He leaned into the podium microphone and said, "I spoke to the other players and we are glad to have Hilary join us for training camp. So I would like to present her with a jersey."

Hilary looked surprised at the gesture despite her previous unbashful demeanor. She rose out of her chair to greet Sid at the main podium microphone. Sid stretched out the jersey to reveal the back of it already stitched with the "Knight" nameplate and number seventeen. Having been already associated with twenty-one on the USA women's team, she couldn't be the next player on the Penguins with it since it was retired for a player in the 70s. A young rookie named Brière already made it unavailable.

Sidney posed for the camera and waited for all the photo and video cameras to get a fair chance at chronicling the moment. Then Hilary stood next to him, reached out, and took the jersey from Sid's fingers. But what happened in that moment no-one would ever expect. Hilary and Sid made eye contact with each other and stared for surely what they must have felt for a lot longer than only mere moments.

Once the snapping of the camera shutters and flashing of the bulbs had once again receded, the Penguins General Manager used his microphone at the table. "That is going to be it for the press conference. I would like to thank all of you for coming. I would also like to thank those of you who came from out of town and are visiting with us. We will try to make ourselves available for further questions on the upcoming season at a future date."

"Are you going to be available for.... a future date?" Sid Crosby leaned in and whispered to Hilary. He seemed to be wary of the cameras.

"We'll talk somewhere more private," Hilary replied.


End file.
